TO REMEMBER

The Mount Soledad Memorial Association sells plaques at rates from $600 to $1,500, with proceeds helping defray the cost of maintaining the area. Previously open only to war veterans, the honor is open to all who have served, the association announced yesterday.

As the smoke drifted skyward from thousands of Memorial Day barbecues in San Diego County's backyards, hundreds of people gathered in ceremonies honoring the fallen from Fallbrook to Chula Vista.

Ramona residents placed flags and poppies on military graves while people in Chula Vista gathered at the Veterans Memorial Rose Garden to remember 10 service members who were killed in action. Local military leaders spoke in patriotic tones to audiences in Point Loma and Coronado.

“I never know if this is a day we should celebrate, or a day we should be sad,” said Brig. Gen. Angie Salinas, commander of Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, who was the keynote speaker at an event atop breezy Mount Soledad in La Jolla. “It's a day for us to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy, and the price that others have paid.”

Members of the Mount Soledad Memorial Association dedicated a black granite plaque in memory of Gen. George S. Patton Jr. as several of the World War II hero's relatives looked on among a crowd that numbered about 500.

“We thought it was time,” said Carolyn Patton Detwiler of La Jolla, whose father was a cousin to the general. “When you think of World War II, he's usually the first general that comes to mind.”

The Patton plaque is one of about 2,700 affixed to curved concrete walls at the base of the summit's famous and contentious white cross. The cross was erected in 1954 as a tribute to Korean War veterans, but it has been the subject of long-running litigation over whether it represents an unconstitutional infringement on the separation of church and state.

The monument also contains plaques honoring famous figures with ties to the military, such as former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, entertainer Bob Hope and bandleader Glenn Miller, whose airplane disappeared over the English Channel during World War II.

Patton biographer Charles Mike Province said the salty-tongued general stood out among his peers, both now and during the war, for his aggressiveness and his encyclopedic knowledge of military history.

At Webb Park in Rancho Bernardo, about 300 people listened as speakers urged them to carry on the fight for freedom that hundreds of thousands of Americans have died for in past wars.

“The great white marble on these headstones cries out that freedom comes at a price, and the soldier resting here paid it,” said guest speaker Brig. Gen. Robert Abrams, whose father, Gen. Creighton Abrams, commanded U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. “We pledge to carry on their work for our generation, and for generations to come.”

Retired Rear Adm. Richard Fontaine told the crowd bluntly that he believes Americans face a threat to their way of life in the enemies that U.S. forces are battling in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Radical militant Islam is evil personified. Our battle with them is one with cold-blooded murderers,” Fontaine said. “Without remorse we must kill them before they kill us.”

Retired Sgt. Maj. Frank Cirou, 89, of Escondido sat in the crowd in a lawn chair beside his wife, Norita, wearing the same uniform he wore when he left the Marine Corps in 1971 after a 30-year career.

A newly minted Marine, he had been assigned to Hawaii just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the raid, his parents were informed he was missing. They were stunned when he showed up at home on leave a few days later before heading off to the newly declared war.

Cirou's chestful of awards testify to his combat experience in Korea and Vietnam as well as World War II. He's got a lot to remember on Memorial Day.

“I think about some of the fellows I've lost,” Cirou said, tearing up a bit at the memory. “When men under you get killed, it hits you more than when you were a corporal or a PFC.”

Some of those attending Memorial Day events represented a new generation.

“It's my first time coming to a Memorial (Day) ceremony,” said Yoselin Lopez, 16, of San Diego, who attended the Mount Soledad commemoration. “I'm impressed that other kids were here. I encourage (young people) to come and see what it's like.”

Yoselin came with her friend Sara Brant, 17, of Clairemont, whose grandfather fought in World War II and is memorialized on a plaque at Mount Soledad.

“We came here to (learn) how soldiers fought in the war,” Sara said. “We're just grateful. And God bless America.”